There are two options a company can take when faced with a software development and web design projects. These options are to hire an in house development staff or outsource the project to a company with expertise in software and web development.

The benefits to outsourcing include the following:

1. You want to spend time managing your business, not managing your software development project.

2. You have expertise in your business not in software and web design.

3. You don’t have to pay full time employees when there is no work to do.

4. You don’t have to provide insurance or any other benefits to sub contractors.

5. You can discontinue the contract if you are unhappy with the quality of services you are receiving.

6. It is difficult to attract and hire qualified web staff.

Web Impakt provides outsourcing services to many industrious successful businesses.

These include the following:

Mountain View Hospital

Jensen Jewelers

Pacific Empire Radio

These companies benefit from outsourcing all their software and web design needs to Web Impakt.

Many of Web Impakt’s customers require control over the content of their site. Web Impakt has a comprehensive content management system that will allow users to control their site without any technical knowledge. Here are some examples of user managed sites:

www.hot106point3.com 

www.jensen-jewelers.com

There are pro’s and con’s to using a content management system. The con’s of implementing a content management system are as follows:

Security when browsing the web is a big concern for many website visitors. One way to instill a feeling of security to your website guest is to install a Digital Certificate. Digital Certificates use SSL to offer authentication. SSL is an acronym for Secure Socket Layer, it is a protocol used to manage secure message transmission via the Internet.

When data is sent over an SSL it allows the users web browser and the web server exchange data over a 128-bit encrypted connection. Anyone who purchases an SSL must prove their identity to the Certificate Authority. Therefore, when you view a website that has an SSL you can trust that they are who they say they are.

The Jensen-Jewelers website is an example of a site that has an SSL Certificate installed.   Note the padlock and HTTPS in the URL.

Anyone who has an E-Commerce site must have a Digital Certificate. Also any website that collects sensitive information like credit cards or social security numbers also needs to have a SSL Certificate installed.

You can purchase a digital certificate from webimpakthosting.com

More information about SSL can be found at the Microsoft website here.

This is a pretty bold statement considering I don’t know what your business does. If you are in business today, having a website is essential. Websites are the business cards of this era. It is often the first place people go when making decisions on whom they should do business with. Thousands of companies have websites and you can be certain that your competition already has one.

Other benefits of a website include:

*  Allows your business to complete in a global market

*  Allows you to provide more company and product information

*  Is less costly than any other type of media

*  Allows you to change your product and service info for less money than reprinting catalogs and brochures

*  Allows you to reach potential customers 24/7/365

According to this comscore press release, a massive 772 million people were online in May of 2007. Don’t let these users pass you by. Web Impakt can help you design a functional website that will get these customers contacting you!

*DEAFENING MUSIC*

*AMAZING DISPLAYS*

*MIND-BLOWING TECHNOLOGY*

You might think I am describing the last rock concert I went to, I’m not. I am describing the last Flash site I went to. I left the site shortly after getting there because I was annoyed at the loud music and having to wait for the menu to show up.

There are times when interviewing customers for a new site, they are sold on the idea that their site needs to be created in Flash. Macromedia Flash (now Adobe) is animation software that web developers use to develop interactive and lively interfaces for web sites. Flash sites are very showy and web customers love them. Visitors and potential customers to their sites usually don’t.

Flash sites pay a high price for their dynamic nature. They usually come with longer loading times, higher costs and less accessibility. Back in the day of dial-up-modems, we were used to waiting for a page to load. Today, with our speedy DSL connection speeds’, waiting for a page to load is out of the question. Most users will hop back out to Google and find a play they can get their information quicker. Another disadvantage of a flash solution is cost. Web Impakt charges 3 – 4 times as much for a full flash site then we do for a html based site. Finally, a huge drawback of flash is that it isn’t tremendously accessible to users or search engines. In order for a user to see your super expensive flash site, they have to download a flash player. Search engines will by pass your site unless you have made huge concessions to help them index your site.

The answer to having a cool website with all the Flash benefits is simple. Web Impakt, has found that a hybrid site is the answer. A nice mix of html and flash gives our customers the cool look they want while allowing users and search engines to quickly find what they are looking for. 

Le Ritz Hotel, in Idaho Falls, is an example of a Web Impakt hybrid site.

Remember, next time you are thinking you want to have your site done 100% in Flash, refer to this flow chart by theGoogleCache.com.